Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Thumbprint cookies are perfect for the holidays, or any day
for that matter! They’re pretty, festive and delicious! This whole food recipe
captures the delightful flavor of traditional thumbprints without compromising
good nutrition. How? By using nutritious ingredients such a Honeyville's Blanched Almond Flour, pure organic maple syrup and naturally sweet coconut oil.

Our favorite way to enjoy these is while they’re still
slightly warm – they have just the right amount of crispness on the outside,
yet are nice-n-chewy on the inside with a gooey little jam center. YUM!If you’re not into jam (or just want to be adventurous), no
worries. There are lots of other great filling options
you can use, such as homemade lemon curd, creamed honey, pumpkin or apple
butter, assorted dried fruits, and of course, chocolate!However you decide to fill these, I’m sure you’ll agree that
they’re simply delicious! And best of all, because they’re made with wholesome
ingredients, they’re one holiday goodie you can feel good about enjoying!

Use your thumb (or a 1/4-size teaspoon), to gently form a small well in the center to hold the jam.

Next, add a small dot of jam (or your favorite filling) to the center of each cookie. Then, bake and enjoy!

2. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, mix together
the melted coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla. Then, slowly add the dry
ingredients, and continue to mix until thoroughly combined.

3. Cover and chill dough in refrigerator at least one hour
(or up to two days).

4. Once dough is chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop out tablespoon-size portions
and roll into balls using your hands. Place the cookie balls onto a
parchment-lined baking sheet and Slightly flatten using the palm of your hand.

5. Using your thumb (or a ¼-size teaspoon), gently press
each cookie to form a small well in the center to hold the jam.

6. Add a small dot of jam in the center of each cookie.

7. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until cookies begin to slightly
brown along edges. Allow to cool on baking sheet for a few minutes; then
transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

8. These cookies are best served within an hour of baking
since almond flour cookies tend to soften as they sit at room temp. However, a
simple trick to re-crisp almond flour cookies is to reheat them on a
parchment-lined baking sheet in a 195 degree oven for about 6-10 minutes.
Enjoy!

19 comments:

Hi, Stacy! Yes, I think honey would be fine. You may want to try 3 tbsp instead of a full 1/4 cup as honey tends to be sweeter and thicker. Let us know how they turn out with honey! Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas! :) Kelly

Hi, friends! My apologies for forgetting to include the bake temp. I've emailed Honeyville to fix that for me. You bake these at 350 degrees - be sure to preheat the oven while you assemble the cookies so it's at temp when you put them in. Lots of blessings, Kelly

Deborah, unfortunately, it's not possible to substitute one flour for another especially when using GF flours, as they all behave very differently. The ingredients in this recipe were specifically combined in the right proportions to work with blanched almond flour. If you've never tried Honeyville's blanched almond flour, it would encourage you to give it a try - it's high in protein and nutrients and is very delicious! Lots of blessings, Kelly

Rachita, yes you can freezer the dough. I would recommend freezing the unbaked cookies though already assembled, as that is a much easier option for popping them into the oven. Just assemble the cookies (add jam) as shown in photo above and then place the baking sheet in the freezer. Once they're frozen solid, you can remove them from the baking sheet and store in an airtight freezer safe container. Then when ready to bake, place frozen cookies back on a parchment lined baking sheet, allow them to thaw and bake as instructed. Blessings, Kelly

I do not use xylitol, so I cannot speak as to a good method of substitution, particularly in the case of substituting it for a liquid sweetener such as pure maple syrup or honey. However, my friend Katie at Kitchen Stewardship has a very informative article about the benefits and drawbacks of sugar alcohols that you may find helpful. I’ve included the link incase you’d like to check it out. Many blessings, Kellyhttp://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2012/02/17/xylitol-erythritol-sorbitolwhats-that-ol-about/

This is a great recipe, thanks for sharing:)I made these tonight with a slight variation. I toasted whole almonds in the oven first then processed into a almond meal/butter mixture. Then followed the steps in this recipe. The colour of mine appear darker than yours but tasty!!! x

I made this recipe exactly as listed yesterday. Here are some comments/questions:1. Using sea salt was a bad idea. The salt crystals were too large and didn't dissolve properly in the dough. Some cookies were crunchy from the salt. I will definitely use table salt next time. 2. Adding the jam at the beginning caused it to boil and spread out by the end of the baking time. This made the cookies look unattractive. For the second batch, I made the "thumbprint" using the 1/4-tsp. measuring spoon, baked the cookies for 5 minutes, removed them from the oven, added the jam, then cooked for another 5 min. They looked much better this way. 3. I feel like this recipe maybe needed an egg? The dough wasn't as "doughy" as I would have expected. Instead, it was a bit dry and crumbled as I tried to shape it and flatten it, and especially when trying to press the 1/4-tsp. to create the "thumbprint". Any thoughts on this? Did anyone try adding an egg?